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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy 1938 FIFA World Cup final sad? It was a kick in the finals.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Football World Cup 1938)

1938 FIFA World Cup
Coupe du Monde
France 1938 (French)
Official poster
Tournament details
Host countryFrance
Dates4–19 June
Teams15 (from 4 confederations)
Venues10 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Italy (2nd title)
Runners-up Hungary
Third place Brazil
Fourth place Sweden
Tournament statistics
Matches played18
Goals scored84 (4.67 per match)
Attendance375,700 (20,872 per match)
Top scorerBrazil Leônidas (7 goals)
← 1934
1950 →

The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the 3rd edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beating Hungary 4–2. Italy's 1934 and 1938 teams hold the distinction of being the only men's national team to win the World Cup multiple times under the same coach, Vittorio Pozzo. It was the last World Cup for 12 years, as World War II caused the 1942 and 1946 tournaments to be cancelled.

Host selection

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France was chosen as host nation by FIFA in Berlin on 13 August 1936. France was chosen over Argentina and Germany in the first round of voting. The decision to hold a second consecutive tournament in Europe (after Italy in 1934) caused outrage in South America, where it was believed that the venue should alternate between the two continents.

Qualification

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Because of the decision to hold a second successive World Cup in Europe, many teams from the Americas did not join the competition or withdrew after an initial application. Most of the South American teams, including Uruguay and Argentina, declined to take part in the competition after the controversy of the Peru v Austria match at the football tournament of the 1936 Summer Olympics.[1] The United States and Mexico joined the qualifying rounds but eventually withdrew. Argentina submitted a late application (which was accepted) before a definitive withdrawal due to disagreements between its national federation and the local clubs.[2] Spain meanwhile could not participate because of the ongoing Spanish Civil War.

It was the first time that the hosts, France, and the title holders, Italy, qualified automatically. Title holders were given an automatic entry into the World Cup from 1938 until 2002.

Of the fourteen remaining places, eleven were allocated to Europe, two to the Americas, and one to Asia. As a result, only three non-European nations took part: Brazil, Cuba (making their debut), and Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia, also making their debut), the latter being the first Asian country to participate in a FIFA World Cup.[3] This is the smallest ever number of teams from outside the host continent to compete at a FIFA World Cup.

The Austrian team qualified for the World Cup, but after qualification was complete, Austria lost its independence under the Anschluss. Austria subsequently did not take part in the tournament, with some Austrian players joining the German squad, although not including Austrian star player Matthias Sindelar, who refused to play for the Nazi German team.[4] Austria's place remained empty, and Sweden, which would have been Austria's initial opponent, progressed directly to the second round by default.

Other teams to make their World Cup debuts included Poland and Norway.

List of qualified teams

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The following 16 teams originally qualified for the final tournament. However, 15 teams participated after Austria's withdrawal due to the Anschluss.

As of 2026, this was the only time Cuba and Indonesia (formerly Dutch East Indies) qualified for a FIFA World Cup.

Format

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The knockout format from 1934 was retained. If a match was tied after 90 minutes, then 30 minutes of extra time were played. If the score was still tied after extra time, the match would be replayed. This was the last World Cup tournament that used a straight knockout format.

Final draw

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The draw was staged in Paris on 5 March 1938.[5] As the qualifying process was still ongoing, many paper slips reported the names of two teams, which were both in competition to qualify.

The FIFA committee identified eight seeded teams, irrespective of their current qualification. The seeded teams were Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Hungary, and Italy, a total of six European and two South American teams.

The whole table was drawn the same day, in the following order:

Round of 16

  • A. Germany v Switzerland or Portugal
  • B. Austria v Sweden
  • C. Hungary or Greece v United States or Dutch East Indies
  • D. France v Belgium or Luxembourg
  • E. Argentina or Central America v Romania
  • F. Czechoslovakia or Bulgaria v Netherlands or Luxembourg
  • G. Brazil v Poland or Yugoslavia
  • H. Italy v Norway

Quarter-finals

  • 1. Winner B v Winner E
  • 2. Winner A v Winner C
  • 3. Winner D v Winner H
  • 4. Winner F v Winner G

Semi-finals

  • Winner 4 v Winner 3
  • Winner 2 v Winner 1

On 15 March 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, and the Austria national team withdrew.

Argentina withdrew from the tournament after disagreements between the clubs and the national federations, so two of the original seeded teams did not take part in the final competition.

Summary

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Qualifying countries and their results

Sweden were given a bye when Austria withdrew.[6]

Five of the seven first round matches required extra time to break the deadlock; two games still went to a replay. In one replay, Cuba advanced to the next round at the expense of Romania. In the other replay, Germany, which had led 1–0 in the first game against Switzerland, led 2–0 but eventually was beaten 2–4. This loss, which took place in front of a hostile, bottle-throwing crowd in Paris, was blamed by German coach Sepp Herberger on a defeatist attitude from the five Austrian players he had been forced to include; a German journalist later commented that "Germans and Austrians prefer to play against each other even when they're in the same team".[7] Until they were knocked out in the group stage in 2018, this was the only time Germany had failed to advance past the first round, and until their penalty shoot-out victory over France in the round of 16 of UEFA Euro 2020, this was the last time Switzerland advanced past the first knockout game of a tournament.[8]

Sweden advanced directly to the quarter-finals as a result of Austria's withdrawal, and they proceeded to beat Cuba 8–0. The hosts, France, were beaten by the holders, Italy, and Switzerland were seen off by Hungary. Czechoslovakia took Brazil to extra time in a notoriously feisty match in Bordeaux before succumbing in a replay; the South Americans proved too strong for the depleted Czechoslovak side (both Oldřich Nejedlý and František Plánička had suffered broken bones in the first game) and won 2–1. This was the last match to be replayed in a World Cup.

Hungary convincingly beat Sweden in one of the semi-finals 5–1, while Italy and Brazil had the first of their many important World Cup clashes in the other. The Brazilians were without their star player Leônidas, who was injured, and the Italians won 2–1.[9] Brazil topped Sweden 4–2 for third place.

Rumour has it, before the finals Benito Mussolini was to have sent a telegram to the team, saying "Vincere o morire!" (literally translated as "Win or die!"). This should not have been meant as a literal threat, but instead just an encouragement to win. However, no record remains of such a telegram, and World Cup player Pietro Rava said, when interviewed in 2001, "No, no, no, that's not true. He sent a telegram wishing us well, but no never 'win or die'."[10]

The final itself took place at the Stade Olympique de Colombes in Paris. Vittorio Pozzo's Italian side took the lead early, but Hungary equalised within two minutes. The Italians took the lead again shortly after, and by the end of the first half were leading the Hungarians 3–1. Hungary never really got back into the game. With the final score favouring the Italians 4–2, Italy became the first team to successfully defend the title and were once more crowned World Cup winners.

Because of World War II, the World Cup was not held for next 12 years, until 1950. As a result, Italy were the reigning World Cup holders for a record 16 years, from 1934 to 1950. The Italian Vice-president of FIFA, Dr. Ottorino Barassi, hid the trophy in a shoe-box under his bed throughout the Second World War and thus saved it from falling into the hands of occupying Nazi troops.[11][12]

Venues

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Eleven venues in ten cities were planned to host the tournament; of these, all hosted matches except the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, which did not host because of Austria's withdrawal.

Colombes
(Paris area)		 Marseille Paris Bordeaux
Stade Olympique de Colombes Stade Vélodrome Parc des Princes Parc Lescure
Capacity: 60,000 Capacity: 48,000 Capacity: 40,000 Capacity: 34,694
Strasbourg Le Havre
Stade de la Meinau Stade Municipal
Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 22,000
Reims Toulouse Lille Antibes
Vélodrome Municipal Stade du T.O.E.C. Stade Victor Boucquey Stade du Fort Carré
Capacity: 21,684 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 7,000

Squads

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For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1938 FIFA World Cup squads.

Final tournament

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Bracket

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Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
5 June – Marseille
 
 
 Italy (a.e.t.)2
 
12 June – Colombes
 
 Norway1
 
 Italy3
 
5 June – Colombes
 
 France1
 
 France3
 
16 June – Marseille
 
 Belgium1
 
 Italy2
 
5 June – Strasbourg
 
 Brazil1
 
 Brazil (a.e.t.)6
 
12 / 14 June – Bordeaux
 
 Poland5
 
 Brazil (rep.)1 / 2
 
5 June – Le Havre
 
 Czechoslovakia1 / 1
 
 Czechoslovakia (a.e.t.)3
 
19 June – Colombes
 
 Netherlands0
 
 Italy4
 
5 June – Reims
 
 Hungary2
 
 Hungary6
 
12 June – Lille
 
Dutch East India Company Dutch East Indies0
 
 Hungary2
 
4 / 9 June – Paris
 
  Switzerland0
 
  Switzerland (rep.)1 / 4
 
16 June – Paris
 
 Germany1 / 2
 
 Hungary5
 
5 June – Lyon
 
 Sweden1 Match for third place
 
 Swedenw/o
 
12 June – Antibes 19 June – Bordeaux
 
 Austria
 
 Sweden8 Brazil4
 
5 / 9 June – Toulouse
 
 Cuba0  Sweden2
 
 Cuba (rep.)3 / 2
 
 
 Romania3 / 1
 

Round of 16

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Switzerland 1–1 (a.e.t.) Germany
 [Report 1]
Attendance: 27,152
Hungary 6–0Dutch East India Company Dutch East Indies
 [Report 2]
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: Roger Conrié (France)
Sweden Cancelled Austria

Sweden advanced on walkover.

Cuba 3–3 (a.e.t.) Romania
 [Report 3]
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Giuseppe Scarpi (Italy)
France 3–1 Belgium
 [Report 4]
Attendance: 30,454
Italy 2–1 (a.e.t.) Norway
 [Report 5]
Attendance: 19,000
Brazil 6–5 (a.e.t.) Poland
 [Report 6]
Attendance: 13,452
Referee: Ivan Eklind (Sweden)
Czechoslovakia 3–0 (a.e.t.) Netherlands
 [Report 7]
Attendance: 11,000
Referee: Lucien Leclerq (France)

Replays

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Switzerland 4–2 Germany
 [Report 8]
Attendance: 20,025
Referee: Ivan Eklind (Sweden)
Cuba 2–1 Romania
 [Report 9]
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Alfred Birlem (Germany)

Quarter-finals

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Hungary 2–0  Switzerland
 [Report 10]
Attendance: 15,000
Sweden 8–0 Cuba
 [Report 11]
Attendance: 7,000
Italy 3–1 France
 [Report 12]
Attendance: 58,455
Referee: Louis Baert (Belgium)
Brazil 1–1 (a.e.t.) Czechoslovakia
 [Report 13]
Attendance: 22,021
Referee: Pál von Hertzka (Hungary)

Replay

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Brazil 2–1 Czechoslovakia
 [Report 14]
Attendance: 18,141

Semi-finals

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Hungary 5–1 Sweden
 [Report 15]
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Lucien Leclerq (France)
Italy 2–1 Brazil
 [Report 16]
Attendance: 33,000

Match for third place

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Brazil 4–2 Sweden
 [Report 17]
Attendance: 12,000

Final

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Italy 4–2 Hungary
 [Report 18]
Attendance: 45,000

Goalscorers

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With seven goals, Leônidas was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 84 goals were scored by 42 players, with two of them credited as own goals.

7 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

FIFA retrospective ranking

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A ball from the tournament

In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition.[15][16] The rankings for the 1938 tournament were as follows:

R Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts.
1 Italy4400115+68
2 Hungary4301155+106
3 Brazil53111411+37
4 Sweden3102119+22
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5 Czechoslovakia311153+23
6  Switzerland31115503
7 Cuba3111512−73
8 France21014402
Eliminated in the round of 16
9 Romania201145-11
10 Germany201135–21
11 Poland100156−10
12 Norway100112−10
13 Belgium100113−20
14 Netherlands100103−30
15 Dutch East Indies100106−60
16Austria AustriaWithdrew

Notes

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  1. ↑ Actually from Austria, but representing the German Football Association because of the Anschluss.
  2. ↑ RSSSF credits this goal as coming in the 90th minute.[13]
  3. ↑ RSSSF credits the 81st-minute goal as coming in the 61st minute.[13]
  4. ↑ RSSSF credits goal in the 80th minute as coming in the 60th minute.[13]
  5. ↑ RSSSF credits this goal as coming in the 89th minute.[13]
  6. ↑ FIFA initially credited this goal to Leônidas, but changed it to Roberto in 2006.[14]

References

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  1. ↑ "C'est un télégramme de la Confédération sud-américaine qui a motivé mon intervention". L'Auto (in French). Paris, France. 9 November 1937 – via gallica.bnf.fr.
  2. ↑ "Pas d'argent! Pas de Coupe du Monde pour l'Argentine!..." L'Auto (in French). Paris, France. 27 March 1938. Archived from the original on 25 August 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025 – via gallica.bnf.fr.
  3. ↑ "Did you know Dutch East Indies, erstwhile Indonesia, were the first flagbearers of Asia in FIFA World Cup?". FIFA.com. 2 March 2023. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  4. ↑ Ashdown, John (22 April 2014). "World Cup: 25 stunning moments … No11: Austria's Wunderteam". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "On a tiré au sort les rencontres de la Coupe du Monde". L'Auto (in French). Paris, France. 6 March 1938 – via gallica.bnf.fr.
  6. ↑ "History of the World Cup Final Draw" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  7. ↑ Hesse-Lichtenberger, Ulrich (2003). Tor!: The Story of German Football. London: WSC Books. p. 85. ISBN 095401345X.
  8. ↑ Steinberg, Jacob (27 June 2018). "Germany crashed out of the World Cup group stages and finished bottom of Group F after defeat to South Korea". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Gehringer, Max (November 2005). "Faltaram os papéis". A Saga da Jules Rimet (in Portuguese). No. 3. São Paulo: Editora Abril. p. 37.
  10. ↑ Martin, Simon (5 April 2018). "World Cup stunning moments: Mussolini's blackshirts' 1938 win". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "History". FIFAWorldCup.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  12. ↑ World Cup mystery: what happened to the original Jules Rimet trophy? Archived 8 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine - the guardian.com
  13. 1 2 3 4 "World Cup 1938 finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "American Bert Patenaude credited with first hat trick in FIFA World Cup history". FIFA.com. 2006. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006.
  15. ↑ "Mexico 1986" (PDF). FIFA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "FIFA World Cup: Milestones, facts & figures. Statistical Kit 7" (PDF). FIFA. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2013.

Reports

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  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. ↑
  10. ↑
  11. ↑
  12. ↑
  13. ↑
  14. ↑
  15. ↑
  16. ↑
  17. ↑
  18. ↑
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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1938_FIFA_World_Cup&oldid=1367517854"